CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut

Interview

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BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Shimon and Kara for your reporting.

And let's go now to Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He is a member of the Armed Services and Judiciary Committees and he's OUTFRONT.

Senator, you hear the breaking news, George Nader cooperating with special counsel Bob Mueller and obviously showing widening perhaps in this probe of exactly where they are looking.

How significant is this?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: It is a very significant story by "The New York Times" because as important as the Emiratis at that meeting and George Nader cooperating is the fact that the Russians were represented at these meetings. The investment banker, Kirill Dmitriev, at the Seychelles meeting is directly tied to Vladimir Putin. He runs an investment fund for him.

BURNETT: Government investment firm, yes.

BLUMENTHAL: Exactly. And so, it is about the Russians and it's about follow the money. That's exactly what Bob Mueller is doing.

BURNETT: And we understand that Nader was, as you were reporting, right, meeting in December at Trump Tower, which Mohammed bin Zayed attended, along with the Emirati ambassador.

[19:50:02] And, of course, also this "Washington Post" report, right, that officials from four countries which include the UAE talked about ways to manipulate Jared Kushner, used his business arrangements, lack of experience, his financial duress to manipulate him.

Do you think there is a connection here?

BLUMENTHAL: There is very definitely a potential connection. In fact, I asked the director of national security today at the hearing of the Armed Services Committee about the connections between the reports about manipulating Jared Kushner, about the connections to his investments, about his potential vulnerability to pressure and whether it constituted a threat to national security.

What we have here is, in fact, Jared Kushner continuing in a role very significant one of negotiating and representing the administration, without access to the information that he needs to do it because he is denied classified information. And at the same time, privy to confident and sensitive information that could be compromised.

And so, you are absolutely right. That's the clear questions, are the Russians continuing their influence and maybe that's the reason that the president of the United States seems very uninterested in countering the continuing Russian meddling in our democracy.

BURNETT: How far do you think this goes? You know, my reporting of this meeting in the Seychelles was that, you know, the Emirates delivered the Russian Kirill Dmitriev, as you point out, who is significant and important connected to Putin, Erik Prince was going to provide the other side of it, the back door entrance into the Trump campaign. The feeling was after that that he failed to do that.

So, do you think any more happened or was this actually the UAE and the Russians made a mistake -- they felt this was their way to get in and actually didn't know how to get in, so they kind of failed?

BLUMENTHAL: Your reporting certainly reflects serious light on the motive here and that is as important as the outcome. The motive in a criminal prosecution is clearly important particularly if it's corrupt motive, if it involves compromising, confidential information or a position of trust. And so, the grand jury ought to be interested in what George Nader has to do about the substance of that conversation at that meeting and others involving him in other parts of the world. And the special counsel probably knows, not probably but certainly knows a lot more than we do and that meeting was significant.

BURNETT: On the issue of Jared Kushner, you pressed the director of national intelligence today, Dan Coats, on Jared Kushner's security clearance specifically and whether it is a threat for him to have the top level security clearance. And here's how he answered your question.

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DAN COATS, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I don't believe it's a threat to our national security, no, I don't, because -- he now has under General Kelly's direction had a temporary access to some types of information, but not to highly classified information.

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BURNETT: Were you satisfied with that answer? Do you think that was the full story from Director Coats?

BLUMENTHAL: I was underwhelmed by that answer, and unimpressed and unsatisfied because Jared Kushner continues to occupy a position of profoundly significant trust. In any other administration, he'd be out of that job and he should be out of that job in this administration. He is potentially a continuing threat to our national security because he has possible access to very sensitive and secret information even if it is not the most highly classified.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Senator Blumenthal, I appreciate your time tonight. Thanks, sir.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

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